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Six takeaways from the start of the 2026 Iowa legislative session
Republicans rush to move big issues as session opens
Jan. 16, 2026 4:07 pm, Updated: Jan. 16, 2026 4:25 pm
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DES MOINES — The first week of the 2026 Iowa legislative session moved faster — and revealed more internal tension — than a typical opening stretch. Republicans signaled urgency on long-simmering priorities, but that haste also exposed divisions inside the GOP on how, exactly, to deliver.
Here are six key takeaways from Week 1 at the Capitol:
1. Property taxes GOP’s top issue — but what’s the cure?
If there was supposed to be a unifying Republican theme to open the session, it was property tax relief. Republicans, who have agenda-setting majorities in both chambers of the Iowa Legislature and control of the governor’s office, have made property tax legislation a top priority for the 2026 session. GOP lawmakers attempted to pass a bill last year but were unable to reach an agreement.
Gov. Kim Reynolds used her Condition of the State address Tuesday to unveil a proposal her office says would save Iowans more than $3 billion over six years.
The governor’s bill — Senate Study Bill 3034 — proposes capping local government revenue growth to 2 percent plus new construction, with exceptions for debt service and school funding; slowing assessment cycles; freezing taxes for some seniors; tightening tax increment financing rules; and changing how some county officials are selected, allowing them to be appointed rather than elected.
But Reynolds’ speech was not the starting gun.
Senate Republicans rolled out their own property tax vision on Day 1 of the session, underscoring both the urgency around the issue and the lack of consensus on how to fix it. Senate Study Bill 3001, introduced Monday, would constrain city and county general property tax rate increases and replace Iowa’s assessment rollback system with a 50 percent homestead property tax exemption phased in over 10 years.
Sen. Dan Dawson, R-Council Bluffs, who has led Senate Republicans’ property tax work, said the proposal is meant to fundamentally reset the debate.
“How do we really bring forward a property tax bill where people can see some meaningful relief in the end, not just a tweak here or a ratchet there, but ultimately how do we transform the system?” Dawson said.
Senate Majority Leader Mike Klimesh, R-Spillville, said rather than incremental changes, Republicans should “tear (the system) down to the chassis and rebuild it,” arguing Iowa’s property tax structure has been patched together for decades.
The Senate GOP bill — more than 100 pages long — would phase out the rollback system over a decade; establish levy limits for cities and counties; permanently discount half of a homeowner’s taxable value and index the state gas tax to inflation. A full fiscal impact has not yet been calculated.
House Republicans say their bill still is being drafted.
House Speaker Pat Grassley, R-New Hartford, said House Republicans are developing their own bill, with overlapping goals but different mechanisms. House Majority Leader Bobby Kaufmann described the opening posture as a “smorgasbord of options” from Republican leaders that lawmakers will attempt to merge into a final package.
Iowa House Democrats rolled out their own property tax relief plan on Jan. 5, a week ahead of the start of the 2026 legislative. It includes a 4 percent property tax cap, rebates for homeowners and renters, and a property tax freeze for seniors. In announcing the plan, Rep. Dave Jacoby, D-Coralville, said he hopes to see bipartisan conversations around tax relief this session.
So while the governor and most lawmakers agree property taxes are urgent, Week 1 made clear they do not yet agree on the cure.
2. House Republicans waste no time reviving the carbon pipeline fight
Just hours before Reynolds took the podium Tuesday night, House Republicans advanced a bill out of subcommittee that would ban the use of eminent domain for carbon dioxide pipelines. The bill passed out of full committee the following day, making it eligible for floor debate and likely the first bill the House passes this year.
The timing felt deliberate. The move marked the first major legislative punch of the session — and it landed on an issue that has divided Republicans for years.
What’s different this time is the framing. Supporters, including Rep. Steve Holt, are casting the bill as a straight constitutional question about private property rights, not a narrow regulatory tweak. Ethanol groups and pipeline developers warn the proposal could sideline Iowa as neighboring states move forward with low-carbon fuel infrastructure.
Reynolds did not outline any pipeline or eminent domain policy in her Condition of the State address — a notable omission given last year’s veto of a more limited pipeline bill and the ongoing pressure from GOP lawmakers.
Grassley said the House will keep pressing the issue.
“We want to make sure that we're protecting property ownership in the state of Iowa,” Grassley told reporters after the address. “It's something for us … that's going to continue to be a priority for us.”
3. A push to change higher education in Iowa
House Republicans are moving aggressively on higher education bills impacting governance and classroom content.
One bill would further lock down public university presidential searches by clarifying that only members of the Board of Regents may serve on presidential selection committees. The change would exclude faculty, students, alumni and community members who have traditionally participated in searches and would allow finalist names to remain confidential unless candidates agree otherwise.
The proposal follows concerns raised by lawmakers about how Iowa State University’s most recent presidential search unfolded and reflects growing legislative skepticism of shared governance models.
At the same time, lawmakers are debating whether the Legislature should dictate what is taught in university classrooms. Another House bill would require undergraduates to take courses in American history and American government and would restrict those classes from focusing primarily on subgroups of Americans.
Republicans argue universities have failed to prioritize civics and history. Democrats counter that lawmakers are overstepping into academic decision-making and risking politicization of higher education.
Add to that a separate proposal to allow community colleges to offer bachelor’s degrees — along with a $20 million request for startup funding — and higher education is emerging as one of the session’s most active and contentious policy arenas.
4. Tackling Iowa’s rising cancer rates
Reynolds devoted a significant portion of her address Tuesday to Iowa’s rising cancer rates, announcing $50 million in federal grant funding this year for cancer screening, prevention and treatment.
The money is part of a broader $209 million federal rural health care grant awarded late last year. Reynolds said $183 million over four years will go toward creating cancer-specific hubs in rural areas, establishing Centers of Excellence, expanding screenings for uninsured or underinsured Iowans and funding radon mitigation testing.
The grant funding is designed, in part, to offset long-term reductions in federal Medicaid spending under the GOP tax and spending law often referred to as the “Big Beautiful Bill.”
Democrats welcomed the focus on cancer but questioned whether the new investments are enough to counteract recent federal budget cuts.
5. Immigration and public safety returned to the spotlight
Reynolds also proposed codifying an executive order requiring state agencies to verify employment eligibility through E-Verify and to confirm immigration status or U.S. citizenship before issuing professional licenses.
Republicans have said the arrest last fall of former Des Moines Public Schools Superintendent Ian Roberts — whom federal officials say used false citizenship documentation — is evidence that statutory requirements are needed for consistent enforcement.
The governor also proposed establishing a rebuttable presumption of no bail for people charged with forcible felonies or non-simple misdemeanors who are in the country illegally, requiring voters to swear U.S. citizenship when registering, and elevating election misconduct to a Class D felony.
Those proposals are expected to draw sharp debate as lawmakers weigh civil liberties, enforcement authority and the scope of state involvement in immigration matters.
6. Democrats say the governor skipped the hardest conversations
Democrats, including State Auditor Rob Sand, said Reynolds’ address glossed over some of the state’s biggest challenges.
Sand, the expected front-runner for the Democratic Party’s nomination for governor, said he agreed with much of what the governor outlined but criticized what he called major omissions: Iowa’s long-term budget outlook, worsening water quality, layoffs across Iowa, declines in education rankings and a weakening agricultural economy.
“Our annual budget is about $9 billion, and we’re looking at north of a billion dollars a year being covered with one-time funds,” Sand said after the speech. “What’s the plan for what happens after that?”
Republicans argue the state intentionally built up reserves during years of strong revenue growth to cushion the impact of recent income tax cuts and return money to taxpayers. Democrats warn the state is spending more than it takes in and drawing down reserves too quickly.
Sand also said Reynolds’ property tax plan sounds reasonable at a high level but cautioned that details — particularly impacts on local governments and services — will determine whether it works.
“The devil is always in the details,” he said. “We’ll see what they look like when they’re written on paper for votes.”
The bottom line
Lawmakers didn’t ease into the 2026 session. Republicans moved quickly to show momentum on issues they’ve been campaigning on for years — property taxes, pipelines, higher education and immigration. But Week 1 also made clear that urgency doesn’t equal unity, and some of the toughest negotiations are still ahead.
Erin Murphy and Maya Marchel Hoff, of the Gazette-Lee Des Moines Bureau, and Vanessa Miller, of The Gazette, contributed to this report.
Comments: (319) 398-8499; tom.barton@thegazette.com
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